The organic body-care brand that’s a family business

The daughter who went from making ‘aftershave’ in the garden to starting a brand with her father

AS A CHILD, one of Bessie Austin’s favourite pursuits was concocting bathroom products to sell outside her family’s home in south Norfolk. ‘I would make aftershave made from herbs I’d cut from the garden.’

Twenty-five years later, she teamed up with her father, Richard, 68, to launch Austin Austin, a collection of six organic hair- and body-care products.

Growing up, she recalls there were always a lot of organic products around. Her mother is a homeopath and her father opened Rainbow Foods, one of the country’s first wholefood shops, in Norwich in 1976 and went on to found Kingfisher Natural Toothpaste, the UK’S leading natural toothpaste brand. ‘I was the only kid at school who had brown-bread sandwiches and raisins,’ laughs Bessie. ‘Organic wasn’t mainstream in the way it is now.’

Bessie, 31, studied art at Central Saint Martins and interior design at Chelsea College of Arts, and went on to work in advertising before co-founding Austin Austin with Richard in summer 2017.

Completely self-taught, she started out by experimenting with different blends of essential oils at her kitchen table in Islington, north London, before working with a professional perfumer. ‘The fragrancing was a big thing for me,’ she says – the range contains notes of vetiver, marjoram and juniper.

For father and daughter, the main points of disagreement were to do with the design of the packaging. ‘I wanted something that looked and felt modern. To find a bottle that can be made in 100 per cent post-consumer recycled plastic, in a shape that you don’t see almost every natural product in, is incredibly difficult,’ Bessie explains.

The Austins settled on labels that showcase artists they admire – the first collection features line drawings by Madrid-based artist Christian Newby.

Today the range is produced close to the Norfolk village where Bessie grew up, using essential oils from around the world. ‘We use bergamot from Italy, juniper from Nepal and lavender from France.’ The hand cream, featuring rosemary and lavender, has become their most popular product.

Austin Austin is now stocked in Liberty and in stores in the US, and Bessie believes it will continue growing. ‘The more people like me who ask manufacturers for recycled stuff, the more things become possible.’ austinaustinorganic.com

Above The range features notes of rosemary, marjoram and juniper. Above rightRichard and Bessie Austin.Right Labels feature modern artwork by Christian Newby. Interview by Francesca Ryan